Isn’t that nice?  A replica of Ulster’s Giant’s Causeway is to be re-created in Dubai.  Most of you will be aware that the largest city of the United Arab Emirates is something of an economic and commercial beacon for the region.  My fellow writers have written favourably about Dubai and, to be fair, it looks impressive.  The world’s tallest skyscraper, with a roof that should stop somewhere just short of Venus, is currently under construction.

My mate asked me if I would ever visit Dubai.  I flatly refused.  The primary reason being that the UAE does not allow anyone to enter the country who has an Israeli passport.  The UAE is a member of the Arab League and was one of the countries instrumental in encouraging the Arab boycott of Israel.  Members of the government and court systems in the UAE have even protested about good which contain small integral parts manufactured in Israel.  For example, Apple Computers were ordered by various Arab states (including the UAE) not to export computers that contained batteries manufactured in Israel.  Takes the shine of all those new glass buildings, eh?

As well as refusing entry to Israeli citizens, the UAE refuses to allow Israel to establish an embassy on its territory; it even asked the United States not to send Jewish personnel to serve on its consular team.  If all this anti-Zionist agenda was not repulsive enough, the UAE has other skeletons in its cupboard.  For a start women are not allowed to vote.  Moreover, as 80% of the total population are made up of foreign migrant workers who are exploited to the hilt by unscrupulous employers with the tacit approval of the governing authorities, workers rights are often minimal. 

Want more?  You got it!  The UAE is a principal drug trans-shipment point for the Asian drug market.  Its eminence in financial industries also make it a prime location for money laundering.  To cap it all, in the context of our war on Islamic terror, the UAE has undefined and unpoliced borders with Saudi Arabia: a potentially major route for arms which could be used against Western targets.

So there you have it.  A state controlled by backward Arabs who, because of the outward economic evolution of the country, are seen as distinctly less prehistoric than other Arabs who dwell on the peninsula.  Don’t kid yourselves.  A state run by backward people is not remedied by a building boom.  Strange how those who praise Dubai never look behind the facade.